Improvement in hay-presses



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICEo VILLIAM RIDONOUR, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN HAY-PRESSES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 37,873, dated March l0, 1363.

To @ZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLTAM RIDONOUR, of Springfield, Clark county, Ohio, have invent ed a new and useful Improvement in Hay and Cotton Presses, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the annexed drawing, making part of this specification.

My improvement belongs to the class known as portable presses,77 and in which the trunk and the pressing andimpelling mechanism are all arranged and operate upon a common level; and my invention consists, chieiiy, in devices for insuring a more uniform density in the different parts of the bale, and a more compact and even disposition of its external portions. W'here the bale-as is customary in horizontal presses-stands end up, 77the lower end becomes much the most dense, owing to the greater amount of tramping it receives, while the upper end, being comparatively loosely packed, and imperfectly laminated, and being, of course, unconfined by any bauds, is liable to fray and burst open, resulting in a waste of material and an unsightly appearance. I remedy the above defects in part by making the transverse section of my trunk greater in the horizontal than in the vertical direction, so that the bale lies on its side in the acts of pressing and binding, and the bands are applied in vertical planes longitudinal of the trunk, instead of horizontally. My said mode of iiat packing and vertical binding results in a more uniform and better-finished bale than is practicable in the usual mode of operating horizontal presses. The bale in my press being formed on its side, the usual side discharges are inadmissible, and I therefore provide a single dischargingdoor at the eXtreme end of my trunk, which door, during the pressing action, is closed by any customary appliance. I construct the vertical sides of my trunk B of yielding boards b b, attached to the frame A at their rear ends, but discon.

nected from the frame and springing slightly outward at their forward ends. The boards b t', during the act of pressing, are confined by ports or cams I I', pivoted eccentrically to the frame, so that a quater-turn, tothe position shown in the drawing, acts to relieve the said boards, and thus, in conjunction with the doors and wings, hereinafter described, acts to release the pressed and bound bale, and to permit its expulsion. The trunk B is closed for pressing by the two top doors, C D, and a f single end door, E. The door D is thrown open after pressing, to facilitate the binding of the bale. The door C has a sliding panel, c, which is shut at the iirst closing of the trunk, but yields to the forward movement of the trunk in the act of pressing. This expedient, made necessary by the low elevation of my trunk-crown, enables a complete closure of my trunk without interfering with the motion of my follower.

Projecting forward from the follower G are two wings, H I-I, nearly equal in width to the interior height of the trunk, against whose sides they press, and to which they form a shifting lining which moves forward with the body of hay during the operation of pressing. It is found that the wings H H', by embracing and moving forward with the main body of the hay, preserve its natural lamination and prevent loose and straggling ends. The bandgrooves V are coincident with vertical planes longitudinal with respect to the trunk.

XV is one of a series of holes for the insertion of the binding-cords.

Y are pins for the support of the staves usually placed inside of the cords.

X are blocks, which, being hooked to the front rof the follower, after a slight temporary retraction thereof, act to expel the iinished bale when the follower is again advanced. rIhe sweep T, to which the team is hitched, has a shaft, Q, whose foot rests on a treadle, It, by which the shaft may be elevated or depressed, so as to bring a tooth, q, either di rectl y in gear with the windlass N, which operates the pressing, or through the medium of gearing S Si', with windlass I), which acts to retract the follower. The windlass N operates to advance the follower through the medium of cord K, pulleys L, and toggle M, while the retraction of the follower is simply effected by extending a cord, O, directly to the windlass I). rIhe treadle R enables the operator to re. verse the motion of the follower at any inoment without checking or reversing the teamV Operation: The follower being retracted, the end door, E, is closed by means of bars F, or otherwise, and the doors C and D are thrown open, Ihe ends of the cords are passed up through holes W, and beinglaid inthe grooves of the latters The usual staves or wooden strips being then laid on the pins Y, hay is thrown into the trunk and well trainped down in the customary manner. The doors G and D are then shut and secured,y by any approved fastening, and the treadle R being elevated onto the prop Z, the team is started forward, so as to wind up the cord K, and by depressing the toggle M to advance the follower G, the panel c sliding forward to make way for the toggle. The follower being sufficiently advanced, the door D is thrown open, and the lower ends of the cords, being by means of a hooked rod drawn up through the holes-vlT and the grooves V in the follower, are fast.

cned to the ends rst mentioned on the upper side of bale. The cams I l', and the door E being then opened to the position represented intthe drawing, and the treadle lt be ing depressed, the team is started sufficiently to retract the follower a short distance for the attachmentA of the blocks X. A second ad Vance now of the follower acts to expel the bale through the open end of the trunk.

It will be seen that the winding up of either one of the windlasses N and l? acts to take up the slack of the other, so that both cords K and O are kept taut and ready for action.

I claim herein as new and of my inventionl. The end-discharging horizontal trunk B, made widest horizontally, and havingits bandgrooves in vertical planes longitudinal of said embrace the hay or cottonon two oppositeV sides during the advance of the follower, in the manner set forth. f n

4. The rear upper door, C, hinged at back, and having the sliding panel c, adapted to close the rear end of the trunk until the passage of the follower, as herein explained.

5. The provision in an end-discharging horizontal press of expelling block or blocks X, attachable to the front of the follower, and operating as described.

6. The described arrangement of pressing and retracting windlasses N and l?, sweep T.

Q q, gearing S S', treadle P, ecrds O and K,

, pulleys L, toggle M, and follower G, as and for the objects stated.

In testimony of which invention I hereunto set my hand.

XVM. RIDONOUR.

lVitnesses:

Gno. H. KNIGHT, Guo. B. GARLiNoHoUsn. 

